this morning on "early today," sounding off. president obama goes face-to-face with americans frustrated with the economic slump. fe line fiasco, a woman in england faces the music for tossing a cat into the gash aen bin. and terror in the stands, horrifying moments as the bleacher packed with spectators horrifying moments as the bleacher packed with spectators collapses in brazil. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with on the defensive. in a town hall held by cnbc in the nation's capital, president obama held his ground while frustrated citizens took turns taking sho at his economic strategy. the president repeatedly defended his policies while fielding questions.

some of the americans who fear th worse from the economy. steve handlesman has more. >> quite frankly, i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted in defending you, defending your administration. >> reporter: people like zelm may hart -- >> i voted for a man who said he was goi to change things in a meaninful way for the middle class. i'm one of those people and i'm waiting, sir. i don't feel it yet. >> reporter: the same from an out of work law school graduate. >> i really want to know. is the american dream dead forever me? >> absolutely not. we're moving in the right direction. >> reporter: there's more proof that. economists calculated our recession ended in june 2009, recovery began 14 months ago. but not r millions, the president acknowledged. >> the challenge is that the hole was so deep that a lot of people out there are still hurting. >> reporter: and when a wall street executive complained --

>> we certainly feel like we've been wlked with a stick. >> reporter: the president staged a comeback. >> i think most folks on main street feel like they've been beat up on. >> reporter: and he will not okay tax cuts for anthony caramucci and his friends. >> 86% of that going to people making $1 million or more and lower the deficit at the same time. i don't have the math. >> reporter: but will he have the votes aft november to keep steering the recovery? i'm steve handelsman. >> meanwhile, house members plan to unveil a ahead of the crucial midterm election tt they're hoping will give them control of thechamber. the agenda is expected to focus on jobs, spending, health care, national security and reform in congress. controversial tops like same sex marriage and abtion rights are reportedly still up in the air. officials say the agenda w

crafted from a social networking project that let voters weigh in with their opinions on the agenda. meanwhile, sources report to nbc news that house members are considering adjourning at the end of this week so senators can focus on their campaigns. a stopgap spending bill would keep the government running until after the election. the house nuft must decide whether or not to extend bush era tax cuts. it would be the first time in 50 years that the house has adjourned before september 30th in an election year. overseas now where nato says nine service members of the international fours in southern afghanistan were killed today when their helicopter crashed. it happened in the nation's volatile south. two other coalition troops,

after afghan army solder and u.s. civilian were hurt and transported to a military medical center for treatment. the cause of the crash is undertion investigation. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in georgia, traffic came to a near stand still aft a small lane me an emerncy landing on an interstate during rush houthere. no one was hurt. the cause of the crash is not yet known. a smokey fire under a bridge in new york left some commuters stranded for several hours. an electrical transformer reportedly blew out, sparking the blaze. service was eventually restore after firefighters extinguished the flames and officials inspected the bridge. in texas, a first-time mom at the dallas zoo is said to be doing a great job taking care of her 2-month-old zebra named

webster. it is the zoo's fourth frebe, the fourlargest of all zebras. and in ohio, being crowned king of the gridiron isn't just for burly football players. in-state rivals rufus the boat and that's from ohio state university and brutu the buckeye from ohio state university throwing fists in the brawl when the bobcat pounced the bobcat twice. rufus cam out on top. the student under the mask, though, has been banned from ohio athletics. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is bill karins with the forecast. you know, bill, i grew up in ohio. we're loyal ns. you have to show who is boss and they're padded. >> i thought it was part of that little stick.

>> no. it's the way we're ised. we're buckeye fans. >> all right. i'll still like you. let's chat about the weather this morning. we are watching summer coming to an end, but temperatures won't give up. it's going to be very hot the next couple of days. look at these temperatures this morning. wre in the 70s in some ars. the only cool spot is up here in new england and some of the plains. we're going to have a lot of wet weather from chicago to minneapolis through iowa, northern missouri will be some of the problem areas. high pressure off the east coast. 'll keep one day cool there, but then the return flow will be very warm tomorrow. as far as that radar goes, you can it filled up here. a lot of showers on this front. sioux falls into minneapolis at this time. we're dry in wisconsin. forecast today, watch out for the wet weather. it's going to be pretty heavy here, especially up through iowa. east coast, fan taft sxik mild. now here is a look outside the

weatherutside your window. 97 in birmingham, alabama. we could see record highs today. 90 in ami. that's not too far from average. st. louis, 91. this is very late in the season to have this warm of temperatures, especially in the ohio valley. well, wednesday is going to be just as warm and some of that heat arrives on the east coast. we'll give you that forecast, cong up, lynn. >> thank you, bill. job cuts at one big bank and the must have choice this holiday season. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. us, who else was in on the joaquin phoenix hoax? th 9ers push the super bowl hamps to the bnk and a player takes out an unruly fan. you're watching "early today."

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry.

here are some ofour top headlines this morning. former president jimmy cart every is trying to clarify comments he made to nbc's brian williams that his post presential work has been superior to that of his successor. after his comments aired last night, carter releaseda statement saying that he was areferring to opportunities from his organization, the carter center. a washington woman who splashed acid on her face and claims she was attacked is now facing charges. they relate to nearly $28,000 in donations that were collected to help pay for the woman's treatment after the incident. an english woman who sparked international outrage after she was seen dumping a cat into a trash bin has now been charged with two counts of animal cruelty. and brazilian authorities say more than 1 people were

hurt after a section of bleachers collapsed at a car race this week. look at that. police are still trying to determine the exact cause, but some officials think the bleachers had structural faults that caused them to give away. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,753 after addi 145 points yesterday. the s&p gained 17 points and the nasdaq added 40. overseas, the nikkei lost 23 points and in tokyo the hang seng was up 25. stocks extended their winning streak yesterday, but the big question today is how will the fed's comments on the economy affected the word on the street? investors are hoping for a sign that the central bank might make more moves to keep rates low and restore confidence in the recovery. investors welcomed word

yesterday that the longest recession since world war ii officially ended more than a year ago. the s&p traded through the high end of its recent range, adding to the day's upbeat move. lenar and discover financial services both tred higher thanks to better than expected earnin. ibm sparked more optimism with news of its $1.7 billion bid for natisa. a bitter battle between mark hurd and his former employer, hewlett pkard, is over. the companies announced a settlement yesterday with hurd agreeingo keep hp's company secrets confidential. walmart is planning to scale down the size of its super store to squeeze into urban market including new york and san francisco. london based online gambling company sporting bet has agreed

to frfeit $43 million to avoid prosecution in the u.s. for illegally taking online betts from americans. finally, toys r usas released its annual list of hottest toys that will likely top holiday shopping lists this year following into the cute, collectible and cheap category, squeakies, mattel's pigs and pillow pets. well, a san francisco treat, the boss is honored and a grand time in anaheim. your early morning sport headlines are just ahead. > and it looks like mother nature is going to ignore the calendar. fall? no way. summer heat returns to much o the country. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, they retired jerry rice's jersey like night in san francisco, and then things really heated up. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. it was tight and it came down to the wire, but in the end, the super bowl champs escaped san franciscoith a victory.

it was a seesaw battle. 49ers down8, but they needed a two-point conversion to tie. smith, the vernon davis rules no good on the field. but after review, they overturned it. now we have over a minute to play. just enough time to march down the fields. the saints will take it, they won it, 25-22. in yanew york, the yshges honored george steinbrenner, very fitting for the larger than life owner who brought seven series title toes new york. steinbrenn would have been proud of granderson's performance. a two-run homer in the third and then he did it again. the yanks beat the rays, 8-6. bases loaded for juan rivera who ripped a shot to center. the rangers julio grabbed the

ball and pushed it back into the park. >> this time, it was a player who stunned everyone. seventh inning, a fan wearing a spandexuit aletter security guards, and that's when the braves tripped him up. biaz kept it all in stride. he said after the game that he saw a guard with a taser and thought thefan would rather be tripped than tasered. i think you're right. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. case closed for one of lindsay lohan's legal issues. much different for the other. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, man's best friend gets a new buddy. you're watching "early today."

welce back. it's going to feel like summer through many areas today. at 90 degree heat is going to go from the south up here to the southern ohio valley and upper to mid 80s from chicago to detroit and cleveland. i el bad for the students that don't haveair-conditioning. the east coast will be all right. cooler for one more day and some of that heat heads to theeast coast on wednesday. new york city, d.c., mid to

upper 80s. cooler with rain coming down through chicago. if you're watching us on kprc local 2, in houston, texas, experience old art at the dynasty and dinity, ife art ancient nigeria at the museum of fine arts. now here's an early look at th morning's headlines in entertaient. at least one legal issue is resolved for lindsay lohan. the actress has reportedly settled her $100 million lawsuit against e-trade. lohan accused the firm of making fun of her in a super bowl commercial. meanwhile, a judge has issued an arrest warrant and set a friday hearing to determine if the actress violated probation after failing a court-ordered drug test. lady gaga is going from pop to politics, again. the eccentric singer visited maine monday to urge lawmakers

to repeal the don't ask don't tell policy ahead of today's senate te. channeling hisarly golden gekko, michael douglas showed no difficult signs at the debut of "wall street" despite battled stage four cancer. a writer for the late show with david letterman says the host was in on the joke with wa keen phillips and the infamous exchange. i sort of feel like i can sleep better at night knowing this. >> i d't kn. >> they replayed in this week -- or last week, was it. >> do you think letterman knew? >> he had that s&l of almost starting to laugh. >> it was so uncomfortable, though, i don't think it could be manufactured. >> hey, i just report the news. and this comes from wat

waterloo, iowa. phillip hendricks says he stumed into this monkey business three years ago when he saw a pet monkey riding a dog holdin on to the ears. now the lawyer turned ring master has a show on the road showcasing what he calls the banana better dee, the greatest job in the world. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the y today on your nbc station. [ male announcer ] it's sunday afternoon.

time for football on veriz fios. the nfl in 100% fiber-optic hd quality.

that's a good start. but what's this? i can check my fanta stats without changing the channel. and get an alert any time my team enters the red zone. and then watch every red zone play on nfl dzone. watch out couch, you've got competition as daddy's favorite. it's time for fios. call the verizon center for customers wi disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v visit verizon.com/getfios.

cool and crisp. delightful out there this morning. 57 degrees. clear skies at 4:28. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to this september 21st, 120. a developing story from afghanistan. nine serve members with the international coalition are dead in a helicopter crash. nato says two others were injured, including a u.s. citizen. the location of the accident is not being disosed. the cause of the crash is being investigated. there were no reports of any fire in the area the deaths spring the number of international troops killed this month to 32. a man who referees is behind bars after a three-month-long

investigation. jack j benson reports. >> reporter: june fire at this town house in virginia, firefighters entered the home next door to determine if the blaze had spread. there they made a disturbing discovery. photos spread out on a table. >> they found what they believed to be suspected child pornography. they notified the police department. >> at fist we thought it might have been hoarding. >> at least one noticed an unusual level of police activity. >> we saw a bunch of lice going in there. a bunch were sitting here, waiting and waiting and waiting and they came out with prably seven to nine boxes of stuff. >> after a 3-month-old long, a warrant was issued charging him wi 10 counts of child pornography.